The pathway from peer victimization to depressive symptoms and body mass in obese and non-obese adolescents

Dr.RyanAdams

The current study is a collaboration with William Bukowski (Concorida University, Montreal) and examins the pathway from peer victimization to depressive symptoms and body mass index (BMI) as mediated by self-concept for physical appearance in both obese and non-obese adolescents. It was thought that this pathway would be particularly important for obese adolescents because, compared to non-obese adolescents, they are at-risk for being victimized and because the victimization be more likely to lead to lower self-concept. Utilizing data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, the current study examined self-reports of peer victimization, self-concept for physical appearance, depressive symptoms, height, and weight in 1,287 adolescents at three time periods over four years starting when the participants were between the ages of 12 and 13.